1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?
Name's Luis, I am a software engineer in Texas. My day to day is working on flight simulation software which isn't like making a video game it can be really involved and not always as fun as making a game. But I love what I do and I love to explore game development on the side.
2. Did you participate in the last jam we held? If so, what do you plan on doing better this time? If not, what's your reason for joining?
I am joining in order to force myself to make a small game and release it. Most of my hobby projects have been for exploration but are quickly abandoned. This time I would like to make the scope small and hopefully have a few people play my little game. I am also open in getting to know other developers of many talents and hope I can work with the in the future.
3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?
There are so many. But recently I really enjoyed "It takes two", "Tiny Tinas Wonderworld", and "Final Fantasy 14". I would say It takes two inspired me to start working on developing games. I found the storytelling to be a delight and I liked the mechanics on each level. I wanted to learn to make mechanics like that and now that I know programming maybe I can help artists to make awesome worlds and such. It would be accurate that I am in a mid-life crisis hehe.
4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?
In simulations I worked with OpenGL to do some work with rendering the simulation. For my projects I have been using Unreal Engine 5 preview and beyond. The tech demo of Unreal Engine 5 really blew me away and I game myself the thought "might as well start now and learn this one". I have used C++ throughout my career so I am at home with Visual Studio. I made a rail shooter prototype for a Startfox-like game, and a looter shooter.
5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!
I love animation. It is definitely an amazing skill and it is beautiful. I love learning about 3D animation and had thoughts in doing some programming in that area. Unfortunately it is not easy to pickup quickly.
6. What are your goals for this game jam?
I hope to learn more about game jams and see other projects people come up with.